


Snow Castles

by MissMorphine



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: #sylvixweek2019, Childhood, M/M, Snowball Fight, Sylvix Week (Fire Emblem), Sylvix Week 2019, That's it, casual references to Sylvain's terrible family, that's the fic, unadulterated adorableness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-15 00:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21024674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMorphine/pseuds/MissMorphine
Summary: During the first blizzard of the year, Sylvain is woken up by his friends for a snowball fight. Naturally, he's going to fight by Felix's side.Sylvix Week, Day 1:Childhood| Promises | Reunion





	Snow Castles

**Author's Note:**

> Sylvix week is my first time ever participating in a ship week, and I'm so excited! This one was actually the first idea I came up with. I was in the car coming home from the shore with a friend and listening to "Landmines" from BELLSAINT when I heard the line "sand castles and fairy tales." The song is literally completely the opposite vibe as this fic, and I kept singing it while writing it, which is hilarious when I think about how wildly at odds the song and the fic are.

Sylvain groaned as he heard a persistent knocking at his window. Groggily, the nine-year-old shuffled out of bed to look outside. He blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust as he took in the faces of Dimitri, Ingrid, and Felix standing out in the snow. The snow had reached up to their knees; it was the first proper blizzard of the year.

Dimitri held up a snowball and gestured to it emphatically. Sylvain laughed before shutting the curtains and running to get dressed. He tugged on his boots hastily and ran out the door while putting his gloves on. One of the maids just barely caught him in time to throw a hat and scarf on him.

The trio of friends were already waiting at the front door; they were all wearing matching grins while holding snowballs. Sylvain took in the sight of the snow; soft flakes were still falling from the sky, and the fields beyond the manor were blanketed in white.

Three snowballs pelted Sylvain in quick succession. Felix was trying to hide his smile while Dimitri and Ingrid laughed openly. Sylvain quickly scooped up a handful of snow and lobbed it at Ingrid, who dodged in time for it to hit Dimitri instead.

“Perhaps we should split into teams,” suggested Dimitri. Felix immediately looked up at Sylvain with wide, pleading eyes. Sylvain slung an arm around Felix and loudly announced that he and Felix would come out victorious.

Despite his boast, Sylvain was already preparing for the loss ahead. Dimitri had an arm like a cannon -- it was a bit frightening to think about the power hidden in Dimitri’s small frame -- and Ingrid could dodge faster than any of them could throw. Still, Sylvain was hoping for a win. It would be worth it to see Felix, just a few weeks shy of seven, light up with joy.

Sylvain and Felix had just finished constructing their fort, a misshapen half circle that was just tall enough to cover them both if they were crouching, when Ingrid called for the fight to begin. Their fort held up sturdily as snowballs repeatedly battered it. Sylvain took a risk to lob a snowball at Ingrid and Dimitri’s fort and quickly ducked before they noticed.

A taunt from Ingrid told Sylvain that he hadn’t hit his target. He grinned over at Felix, who smiled back while shaping more snowballs. The younger boy had a mischievous glint in his eye as he climbed onto Sylvain’s shoulders and began hurling snowballs at the other two. Felix yelped as a snowball smacked his arm, and he hopped off of Sylvain’s shoulders to hide behind their wall of snow.

“We’re winning,” Felix asserted. “I hit Ingrid twice and Dimitri three times. They only hit me once.” Felix grinned, his smile showing off a missing tooth. Sylvain smiled fondly and ruffled Felix’s hair.

“You did good, Fee,” replied Sylvain. He scooped up a handful of snow and shaped it into a tight ball before dropping it onto Felix’s steadily growing pile. Felix climbed onto Sylvain’s shoulders again, but he quickly climbed down with a look of confusion on his face.

“They’re not in there…” said Felix.

A loud battle cry got both Sylvain and Felix’s attention. They looked up to see Ingrid and Dimitri coming at them from opposite sides. Ingrid and Dimitri both had an armful of snowballs that they had begun throwing. Sylvain attempted to throw one of his own snowballs back at them, but it was too difficult to aim with countless snowballs being lobbed at him.

A whimper caught Sylvain’s attention. Felix was squirming further into the wall of snow to hide himself. Without thinking, Sylvain wrapped himself around the younger boy to cover his tiny body with his own larger frame. Felix’s hands held onto Sylvain’s jacket clumsily, the mittens making it hard for him to grasp on properly.

Sylvain grunted as Dimitri and Ingrid continued to hurl snowballs at him. He was probably going to have some bruises from the ones Dimitri threw, but they wouldn’t be worse than the ones Miklan gave him. At least these bruises would have a happy memory associated with them. When the two finally ran out of snowballs and began to cheer that they won, Sylvain picked up two snowballs and threw them both defiantly, hitting both Ingrid and Dimitri.

Sylvain picked himself off of Felix and pushed himself onto his feet. He then extended a hand to help the younger boy up and allowed him to wrap his arms around Sylvain’s forearm. Felix’s breaths were shaky, a telltale sign that he was about to start crying.

“You two go inside,” called Sylvain as Ingrid and Dimitri began walking toward the house. “We’ll catch up later!” The redhead sighed in relief as Ingrid and Dimitri continued walking without them; he didn’t want to deal with them teasing Felix for crying.

Felix sniffled and brought his hands up to scrub at his eyes. Sylvain held out his arms, welcoming Felix for a hug and letting him cry against his chest. He whispered soothingly to the smaller boy while stroking his hair until his breathing evened out.

“Want to do something fun, just you and me?” asked Sylvain. Felix nodded and took a step back from his position at the other boy’s chest. “Climb on my back. The snow’s all messed up here from us, so we have to find a better spot.” The taller boy crouched down, letting Felix hop onto his back and then carrying him until they reached the window outside Felix’s room.

Sylvain set Felix onto the ground before kneeling onto the snow and pushing a large section of the top away. He patted the remaining snow down and smiled once he deemed it ready.

“Let’s build a snow castle,” Sylvain suggested. “You’ll be able to see it every day from your window.” Felix smiled, all traces of his previous tears gone, and began packing snow into the middle of the area Sylvain had created.

Together, they created a rough outline of a castle. It certainly wasn’t as detailed as the castle that Dimitri lived in, but it was recognizably a castle. but Felix’s tiny hands carved out windows and doors while Sylvain created spires along the outer walls. They had found a few twigs and dried leaves to decorate the castle with makeshift flags and banners. Their lines weren’t straight, and nothing was quite the same size, but it was something to be proud of, nonetheless.

“We’re going to live in a castle just like this someday,” said Felix as he carved out another window.

“Isn’t Dimitri the only one of us who’s going to live in a castle?” asked Sylvain. He thought about the cold manor back in Gautier territory, and he was grateful that he was staying with the royal family in Fhirdiad for the month.

“Why should he be the only one who gets a castle?” Felix asked in reply. “I mean, he is a prince, but that doesn’t mean you and I can’t have a castle together too.” For a moment, Sylvain imagined what it would be like, having a castle with Felix. His parents were already beginning to tell him about how he would marry a noblewoman to further their bloodline and pass down his Crest, but that future seemed so nebulous and far away. It was so much easier to think about living in a castle with just him and Felix.

By the time that their castle was done, Sylvain’s hands had gone mostly numb. He turned to look at Felix, who had begun shaking. The older boy stood up and then lifted Felix onto his feet. He took off his wet gloves and stuffed them in his pocket before doing the same to Felix. Sylvain laced their fingers together as they walked back to the house.

A maid was waiting at the door for both boys, and she tutted in disapproval as she took in their snow-covered clothes. She sent them both upstairs to change into something dry and warm before insisting that they both come down for a cup of hot tea after.

After allowing the house staff to fuss over them, Sylvain and Felix went into the kitchens for tea. Two cups of steaming tea were waiting for them, along with a few rolls fresh out of the oven. Sylvain broke into a roll first, nearly inhaling it in his hunger.

“Thanks, Sylvain,” Felix murmured before taking a sip of tea. His face scrunched up, causing the older boy to laugh as Felix complained that it was too sweet.

“You don’t need to thank me for some tea and bread,” Sylvain replied. “I’m pretty sure Esmé would have made you tea even if you came in by yourself.”

“That’s not what I meant…” Felix pouted. “I meant, thanks for being on my team and building me a snow castle. You probably would’ve won if you picked Ingrid or Dimitri…” Sylvain reached across the table to tap the smaller boy on the forehead. Felix looked up with a furrowed brow, confusion written across his features.

“You don’t need to thank me for any of that stuff,” said Sylvain. “I picked you because I like playing with you, and I’m always going to pick you first. I like being with you more than I like winning.” Felix broke into a smile, and he threw his arms around the older boy for a hug. Sylvain wrapped his arms around Felix and smiled down at him.

It was certainly true that Sylvain would have won the snowball fight if he hadn’t chosen Felix. It was also true, however, that Sylvain preferred playing with Felix over winning. As he let Felix cling to his chest, Sylvain knew he wouldn’t trade his best friend for any victory.

**Author's Note:**

> When I looked at the map, I noticed that there's no feasible way to put all four of the kids into the same fic...unless I found a way to have them in the same place. It's not uncommon, to my knowledge, for nobles to have sent away their children for periods at a time, so I went with that as to why all four of them are in Fhirdiad.


End file.
